Phoenix Fuel Masters battle Alaska Aces

Phoenix Fuel Masters battle Alaska Aces

Following a controversial victory the other night, Phoenix looks forward to a more convincing follow-up performance.

The second-running Fuel Masters shoot for a spot in the quarterfinals when they plunge back to action against streaking Alaska in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.

Phoenix (6 wins, 1 loss) can gain itself a first place tie and a berth in the next round should it overcome the Aces’ (2-1) grit when they meet at 7 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City tonight.

In the appetizer, Columbian (3-4) aims on stabilizing its place in the top eight when they take on woeful Blackwater (1-6) at 4:30 p.m.

The Fuel Masters came away with a 98-96 escape act against NorthPort last Wednesday in a thrilling contest following two free throws from Jason Perkins in the dying seconds.

However, the win didn’t come without controversy as the Batang Pier felt like it was robbed of a victory after a supposed go-ahead triple by Sean Anthony, seconds earlier, could’ve turned the tides in its favor.

Nonetheless, Phoenix coach Louie Alas wants his team to look forward and focus on its strengths to rack up more wins.

“At least, our character defensively improved in that game,” said Alas. “We won four of our games because of key stops and that’s what we need to continue doing to win more.”

On the other hand, Phoenix will face a peaking Alaska side, who carries a two-game winning streak.

The Aces edged out Blackwater, 103-101, in their last assignment prior to the two-week break.

The Dyip is running seventh in the standings while the Elite is in 11th and is virtually holding on for dear life.

Columbian managed to snap its three-game losing skid last Wednesday after coming up with a vital 86-85 squeaker over Meralco.

On the other hand. Blackwater is on a tail-end of a four-game losing streak.

The Elite basically needs to sweep its remaining four assignments to have a minimal chance of cracking the top eight.

Meanwhile, the PBA released a statement saying the referee made a wrong call in handing Sean Anthony an offensive foul.

“Upon review of the video of the February 27, 2019 game between Northport Batang Pier and Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters, the PBA Technical Group had come to the conclusion and admits that the Offensive Foul called by one of the referees against Northport’s Sean Anthony, during the last 47.8 seconds of the 4th quarter of the game, was a wrong call,” said the PBA statement.